Vacation – Day 10 Reno, Nevada

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today was extremely pleasant and relaxing. It started when I exited our assigned bedroom at K&M’s, in Foresthill, and found Mike sitting on the couch watching TV with the sound off. The coffee was done so I grabbed a cup and we sat. We talked while watching the silent TV until the women awoke. I have no idea when I got up, how long we talked, or when the women arose which is a testament to the value I place on the conversation Mike and I had.

I don’t remember everything we talked about, but it was very enjoyable. It was manly type stuff, I’m sure, involving tires, computers, trucks, and such. And cooking. Mike is really good at that.

Once the women got up and were communicating as good as Mike and I were, Mike retired to the kitchen to work on breakfast. It was an oven bake of eggs, shredded potatoes, and ham. It was most excellent. We all sat at the table and ate almost all of it.

Then Mike went to work to fire up the BBQ grill in preparation for the ribs he was going to cook in the afternoon. While he was doing this, Kathie, Diane, and I walked down the street to one of their neighbor’s homes where a sale was in progress. Everything was going out the door. Since we were late, all the good stuff was already gone, of course. We’ll never know what we missed. But we did buy a 6×9 area rug and Kathie got a really pretty bowl. I rolled the rug up, put it on my shoulder and trudged back up the hill with the girls.

Then we all climbed into Mike’s new Ford F-150 Crew Cab Short Bed Pick Up Truck and got a tour of Foresthill. Diane now officially has Truck Envy. I must admit, Mike’s truck is a beauty. Foresthill is a small community in a very picturesque setting at a 2600 foot elevation. I say small, but it just looks that way because all the houses are spread out over a large area. The town has a new high school with a total of 200 students. Just the right size.

After returning to the house Diane and I sat on the couch while Kathie and Mike worked on the incredible meal to come. Actually, we packed up our stuff and stuffed it in the Buick, in preparation for our planned 5 o’clock departure. We visited for a short time, bid our adieu’s, climbed in the Buick and headed down the hill back to I-80. Remember … it’s left at the end of the road, left at the end of the next road, then right onto I-80, and about 95 miles to Reno.

The trip was uneventful except when we climbed to 7000 feet and I was concerned that it might be a bit chilly if the Buick broke and I had to walk for help. Thankfully, Diane was driving, nothing broke, and we made it to our Reno abode around 6:50 pm.

Our room is very nice, for which we’re pleased. It’s on the 13th floor with a view of the city.

Once we were properly ensconced, and everything was put away for the duration of our stay, we went about fixing simple things to eat. Our room has a toaster so Diane had peanut butter toast, a glass of milk, and an apple. I was going to have a chunk of cheese and an apple but had to modify that choice when I discovered the cheese was missing. Dang! I hate when that happens. I’m the one who reloaded the cooler so it’s on me for leaving it behind. Diane contacted Kathie, via text, and begged her to bring the cheese to us, but she refused. Actually, I begged Diane to ask Kathie to bring the cheese, but she refused. I was kidding, of course. We’ll drive back in the morning to get it, and the lettuce and onion I left behind. Either that, or go buy another Tillamook Loaf, which would probably be a lot cheaper. And, Kathie told Diane they were going to make salad with what I left. That’s fair.

So, that was our 45th anniversary dinner … pretty simple fare, alone in our room. We’re both OK with that. And, we got to watch a couple more episodes of Big Bang Theory.

Thanks, Mike & Kathie, for your hospitality and a great visit.

Vacation – Day 9 – Foresthill, CA

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Here we are in Foresthill, California which is a village way up in the woods of the Auburn Recreation Area. We’re with the ‘other’ Kathie & Mike who live in California. The ones we’re related to. This is the first time Diane has met Mike, and my second time. The first time for me was at a restaurant somewhere in Portland where Jack, Wy, and I met them just before they, M&K, had to fly back to California. That was when Kathie had the black eye that we don’t talk about. There’s a story there but it’s not related to domestic violence of any kind. It’s more about spatial awareness.

To get here on time we left Beale AFB shortly before 1000. First stop was Burger King for a breakfast sandwich for each of us, on the base the n out the Dolittle Gate to Highway 20. We rode that road all the way over to Williams, then on to Grass Valley, the Nevada City, Mike’s suggestion. We had a nice little visit walking around Nevada City looking at some very eclectic shops. It was a lot of fun and I found the perfect 45th anniversary present for Diane. When it was time to head up to Mike & Kathie’s, the shopping ended, but we had enough time to stop at Burger King for a Whopper Jr. for each of us. Atogether it cost us about $6.50 for lunch so we had a reasonable meal for a reasonable price. This sustained us for the 20 mile trip up the mountain.

Our GPS led us right to their front door and we were very happy that the temperature went down with the gain in altitude. After living with 40 degree days at the coast for a week, we were happy for sun, but not 80 degrees.

Kathie communicated with us to say she would be home 2-2:30. Timing was perfect because we pulled into the driveway, parked the vehicle, and I had just retrieved the key from it’s special hidden spot when Kathie drove arrived.

First I have to tell you that Mike’s lawn more is five years old but look like it could go right back on the showroom floor. So does his rototiller. I was so happy that we got the car washed before getting to their driveway. Because of this discover, as soon as we get home, I’ll have to take my lawn mower out in the yard and power wash it before I use it again. I’m ashamed of my self after seeing Mike’s stuff. Just ashamed.

This will be short because I’m about to fall asleep and we’re getting up early in the morning for breakfast. This evening K&M invited neighbors, Lee and Julie, for a Mexican casserole dinner with Caesar Salad. Really nice folks. There’s talk of lunch tomorrow, and other events that make it necessary for us to call our next stop, in Reno, to see how late we can check in and not forfeit anything, like the upgrade we’re supposed to get.

We’ll se how that goes. At this moment I’ve already had my sleep meds so things aren’t working well. Pictures will be added and spelling corrected, ane bad language removed. So check back for the final version when the urge strikes.

OK – I made one pass through the above section and it’s good as far as my semi-lucid mind can tell. That may change once Diane reads it.

Now for pictures …

This is the overpriced hazelnut latte I got from a barrista in Nevada City. It’s a piece of art you can drink.

Typical street scene from Nevada City.

Love this sign … Breakfast . Lunch . Beer …

Gotta love Fred’s …

This lady was arranging things in her window so I stopped to watch and snap a picture. She stopped and started posing for me. Fun …

This is Bella, Kathie and Mike’s cat, sleeping on our suitcase.

Diane and Kathie toasting …

Mike waiting on the toasters ..

An example of Mike’s woodworking prowess. He has all the fun tools and makes incredible “things”.

That’s it for yesterday …

Vacation – Day 8 addendum

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I had a bit of crucial information to add to our Point Arena visit …

Turns out that Point Arena is where the San Andreas Fault Line runs right, smack past it. All that activity of the Pacific Plate rubbing up against the North American Plate is the reason for all those round rocks on Bowling Ball Beach. We regret not getting to see them in person, but we have the satisfaction of knowing we walked directly on the edge of the Pacific Plate. Pretty cool.

Here’s my lovely bride hiking around on the fault line …

I’m not positive, but i suspect this is part of the Pacific Plate that’s slide up over the North American Plate …

… and this is the ‘beach’ we could see. All the bowling balls were around a corner we could not reach, and underwater at this time …

Next is Jack’s Pharmacy just to prove Jack really does have a pharmacy. Jack also has a very incredible store in Ocean Shore, Washington that sells pretty much anything that’s available in the free world … but that’s different Jack. I asked.

It’s now 9 am on Day 9, but details will not be forthcoming until later.

Ciao.

Vacation – Day 8

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

This morning we awoke early, around 0800. Diane got up and I feigned sleep until I figured she had the coffee going. She greeted me with the news that the town of West, Texas had been leveled when a fertilizer plant exploded. Pretty horrendous. Not a good wakeup call especially with Boston still hanging in the air.

As I write this we are traveling east on Highway 253 toward Ukiah. Boonville is behind us. We have no cell service so cannot get any updates on West, Texas.

We went a few miles north of Point Area then took Mountain View Road to Boonville. It’s 27 miles of steep, narrow, curvy road. I was unable to share my wisdom during that portion of the trip because my keyboard kept sliding out from under my little fingers as Diane whipped us around one corner after another. That, and by not watching the road I was in jeopardy of losing this mornings fare of Cheerios and toast through my nose. That would not have been any fun at all for either of us.

12:02 pm – we just jumped on Highway 101 North at Ukiah. In 10 miles we’ll exit on California Highway 20 toward Upper Lake. Diane’s in little dog heaven because the road is flat, straight, and the speed limit jumped to 65.

12:38 pm – we’re heading east on California Highway 20, and the temperature has leaped to 71! Yea! The entire time we were at Point Arena it never made it to 60. In anticipation of the temperature increase, I donned shorts and semi-socks with sneakers. Except for the fact that my little chicken legs are on display for the world to chuckle at, it was a good choice.

2:11 pm – we’ve just resumed our journey to the east after stopping for a terrific lunch at the Nice Frostie in Nice, of all places. It’s on the Eastern shore of Clear Lake. Frostie’s was our second choice after passing on a casino many miles behind us. Pretzels kept us fortified until Frostie’s appeared. It’s a little hole in the wall place, but it had a motorcycle parked out front, a sure sign of good food. And, it truly was. Good food, and quiet, with only a couple of folks eating. Shortly, however, the place filled up as places seem to do when we go in their doors. It’s like magic. We should hire out to fill places up.

8:30 pm – we arrived at Beale AFB around 5:30. First stop was the exchange to get some things we didn’t know we needed, and something simple to fix for supper. Like a sandwich. Turns out the exchange doesn’t have that kind of food, but the commissary was still open so we went there to get what we needed.

The nice young lady at the Gold Country Inn, the Air Force’s temporary lodging facilities on the base, sent us to a VOQ (Visiting Officer Quarters) room waaaay on the other side of the base. Really, it’s about 5 miles from the check-in desk.

The base is enormous. Hundreds and hundreds of acres are apparently leased to farmers for their cattle to help with the sequestration process. If it weren’t for income like that, Beale would probably be one of the bases on the closure list. Actually, that isn’t very likely because this is the base where they train the U-2 pilots for the Air Force. These things have been flying since 1960. Amazing. I have it on good authority that they are one of the primary means of detecting IEDs in Afghanistan. Fox News told me that. The high-resolution cameras they carry can, from 70,000 feet, detect the changes in ground coloration when IEDs are planted.

Or, maybe the Air Force has a cow rental program for young families so the spouses will have something to do while the other spouse is deployed. Notice that I said ‘spouses’, not ‘wives’, which was my first impulse.

We sat here and watched Janelle get kicked off American Idol which we knew was going to happen because of her song choices yesterday. But, we’re still depressed, so I’m quitting for tonight, after watching Person of Interest.

Vacation – Day 7

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I’m writing this on Day 8 so my references to time might be for ‘yesterday’. Please don’t let that confuse you like it does me. I’ll try avoid doing that.

Our goals for yesterday were to visit Bowling Ball Beach at low tide, then to go see “Croods” at the Point Arena Theater. Low tide was 1117 so Diane set an alarm to ensure we were up on time to get there. The beach is actually in Schooner Gulch State Park which is just a few miles south of Point Arena. We’ve been past it a few times in the past few days so knew right where it was.

We got there in plenty of time, parked, and took the path down to the beach. So far, except for Bodega Bay, it’s the only beach that we found accessible by simply walking vs. jumping off a 20 foot cliff. In all fairness, we could have easily slid down those cliffs to the beach without sustaining major injuries, but I was pretty confident that we would have had to spend the remainder of our vacation wandering aimlessly up and down the beach looking at rocks and cliffs. So, we didn’t do it.

It was a very nice beach, there at Schooner Gulch. But, no amount of searching revealing any rocks resembling bowling balls. The pictures we’ve seen of them led us to believe they would be easy to find. They aren’t. We spent a couple of hours investigating the beach, collecting ‘special’ rocks, and visiting briefly with the other two visitors. Though we didn’t ever find the bowling balls, we enjoyed ourselves and got a bunch of exercise that we hadn’t counted on. I even got sweaty, something I’m not used to any more.

After the beach we went back to the trailer for lunch and to kill some time until the 2 o’clock movie. As it turned out, a nap was more important than the movie so we didn’t go. We read and napped the afternoon away. It was wonderful.

Sometime during the afternoon, when we were both lucid, we decided that we’ve pretty much enjoyed Point Area, and the surrounding area, about as much as we could and that it was time to move on down the road. In our case, it’s not down, it’s up and over to the right a little, to Beale AFB near Yuba City. That way we can get a little jump on Kathie R because she’s expecting a call when we get to Vacaville tomorrow afternoon. I’m not sure how those logistics are going to work out right at the moment.

Getting a good nights sleep was important so, after waking from our last nap, we called it a night and went to bed.

Regrets

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

I have a few of those. I normally don’t dwell on them because most involve situations about which I can do nothing. Take yesterday, for example ….

All day Diane and I were driving up and down the California Coast, absorbing the incredible grandeur of the area, blissfully unaware of the horrific events transpiring in Boston. We didn’t know anything about it until late afternoon when we turned on the TV upon our return.

At first we thought it was some horrible accident, maybe a collapsed grandstand, or something like that. As we watched, the pieces came together and we learned of the bombs in Boston and the carnage they caused.

Now for my regrets …

I regret that there are people in the world who feel the need to use violence as a tool to make a point. It’s such a cowardly way of doing things. I know … bullies use violence, but at least they directly participate in the process.

I regret that so many people got hurt in Boston. I also regret that so many people were killed, and hurt, in Viet Nam, Korea, the South Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, China, Africa, South America … the list goes on. It’s not that I typically think about those things, because I don’t. Having something like this happen so close to home, so close to loved ones, just brings all the other atrocities in the world to the surface.

I regret that there is violence all around us, every day. We just don’t see all of it. It’s about power and the willingness to exert that power over someone else. We long for a peaceful world but that isn’t likely to happen as long as someone has something someone else wants and ignores some pretty basic rules to get it. Take football, for example. Both teams want it, but there are rules one must follow to either keep it or get it back. Referees are assigned to enforce the rules because both teams forget them quite often. Actually, part of the game, in my opinion, is for players to break the rules and see if they can get away with it. Yes, it would be nice to live in a world where everyone got along without the need for referees, but we need them to contain the chaos that would erupt without those guys and their whistles and flags. The vast majority of us know the rules, too, and we applaud when our team gets away with breaking one of them … if our team wins, does that make it OK?

I find my head going in circles on this. The sports & war comparison isn’t new. It’s just not something I’ve ever tried to comprehend beyond the obvious. We all know what’s right and wrong at the basic level of existence but those beliefs are further defined by our experiences … this could go on, and on.

This is one of those philosophical exercises that has no end and I apologize for subjecting you to my wonderings. It’s not my normal way of relating events, but having this on my mind kinda takes the humor out of things. At least for a while.

Vacation – Day 6

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today, some might think, was a total waste. But not us. We didn’t do a darn thing all day except eat, nap and watch TV.

“That,” you may say, “is not something you do while on vacation. On the California Coast. In a high end trailer park. What are you thinking?”

However, as Jerry T might say, “that’s exackry what we did.”

He told me once, he said, “Jerrie, you have exackry disease.”

Jerry T is an older, vertically challenged, ex-jockey, horse owner/trainer/racer, M&M Aficionado, art collector, jockey agent, and all around stellar individual. Considering why he may have mispronounced ‘exactly’, I played along.

“What, exactly, is exackry disease?”

In response, he said, “your face looks exackry like your face.”

Then it hit me! He’s Japanese and he looks exackry like Pat Morita, Mr. Miagi from the first “Karate Kid” movie. Really, he does. He even signs autographs. And he’s always coming up with jokes like this. All in fun, of course. I get it. It’s not true, but I get it.

Anyway, that’s exackry what we did. Nothing, except eat, sleep, and watch TV. I must admit, though, that the TV did not come on until after Diane’s 4-hour nap, around 1830 (6:30 pm for you civilians).

Prior to that, we nibbled a bit until the coffee was gone, then cooked an enormous breakfast for lunch. A six-egg omelet, six pieces of really thick bacon, four potatoes cut up and fried, and toast. And milk. The intention was to split everything down the middle, but that didn’t work out because my eyes were bigger than Diane’s stomach. It did, however, all get eaten, sad to say. It was after this nourishing meal that we crouched on the couch for a moment before Diane started nodding off and was sent to bed. I remained on the couch and finished another crafty thing I was working on, then curled up to take a nap of my own. I think I was down for only about an hour.

That brings us to 1815 when I decided it was time for Diane to arise so she would be able to sleep tonight. We do have a plan for tomorrow, to visit Bowling Ball Beach, at low tide. That’s at 11-something am. Then we’re going to the movie to see “The Croods” at 1400.

Doing this caused me to do one of the most terrible things I’ve ever done in our 45 years of married life. I touched her on the arm. I really, really tried to stare her awake, but she didn’t respond, so I innocently reached over and touched her bare arm.

The response was instant and scared me, causing me to almost spot my jammies. Her eyes slammed open (they actually made a slamming sound), she grabbed the shingles spot on her left side (as if that was all my fault), and she pushed herself against the headboard while uttering “huh, huh, huh” repeatedly. And she was brushing feverishly at the spot where I touched her. What went through my mind throughout all this was that people must wonder how we ever participated in the process that produces children. I know there’s a process. I just don’t remember what it is …

After about an hour and a half, Diane’s adrenalin levels had subsided to the point where she could communicate coherently without yelling at me, and our day progressed OK from there.

I peeled an apple for her. That calmed her even more, to the point where she felt compelled to fix supper for us. I got the remainder of the egg salad and she had tuna salad. I ate mine then she asked if I could eat the other half of hers. Of course, I said “yes.” Here’s what she handed me …

Now, really! Does this look like half a sandwich?

After successfully devouring the remainder of her sandwich, I was allowed to eat my cherry pie.

I ate the entire pie and it was really good.

Vacation – Day 5

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Today was most excellent. It was sunny, clear, and there was very little traffic as we wended our way down Highway 1 to Bodega Bay. It’s only about 64 miles from the trailer park but it took us 3 hours. As you may have surmised, we went slowly, and we made numerous stops to ooh and aah over the scenic beauty of this area. So, Kathie R., and Mike B., I stand officially converted to the wonders of Highway 1, and the joy of being able to experience it. Forgive me for my original comments from Day One of this journey.

On the way to Bodega Bay, as I said, we made a few stops. I’m not going to bore you with all of them, only the two most interesting and incredible.

First, around mile marker 55.24, or thereabouts I caught sight of an interesting structure on the makai side of the road. I’m using the Hawaiian reference, makai, for the mountain side of the road, as opposed to mauka, water side, because of the similarity of this area with the big island. I think it’s mauka. Also, I do not know what the mile marker is 55.24 miles from, but they get smaller as you go south. I don’t know where they start. Maybe Bodega Bay. Whatever.

At this location, as I said, I spied an odd structure to the left side of the highway. Remember, that’s mauka. Before I could bring it to Diane’s attention we were past the entrance, but the next driveway was really wide allowing Diane to whiz across traffic, of which there was none, so we could stop and see what it was. The drive she whizzed in to was a fire station. Thankfully, there wasn’t a need for them to use the driveway right away, but they did within 20 minutes of us turning around.

After turning around, we went back north to see what we could see. At first, I thought the structure was an eccentric house, but there was a parking lot near it making us believe there was more to this than what a casual drive by would reveal. Indeed. Not only was this NOT an eccentric house, it is with out a doubt one of the most incredible things either of us has ever seen. Ever! In our lives! Except for our kids, of course. This structure looked like something out of a fantasy movie that involves elves and magicians. It even looks like a magician’s hat. Amazing. Upon close inspection we learned that it’s a non-denominational chapel for use by anyone, for reflection and prayer, as one wishes. It’s not a large structure, and there are no barriers at all. There isn’t even a lock on the door.

There are no square corners, or straight lines in the structure. It’s actually a work of art that has a door allowing one to enter and appreciate it from all sides. And that we did. Appreciate it. It is absolutely stunning. Let me show you what I mean …

Then there was this … a bunch of unrestrained, unconcerned cows enjoying the view … how delightful to come around a corner and find these animals lounging between the road and a 300 cliff ending in the ocean. Quite startling …

After those two things, everything else was second rate.

It was a great day. In all, we spent 5 hours traversing 120+ miles, start to stop. Awesome.

Oh ya. We got to Bodega Bay right about lunch time which was perfect. I requested assistance from SIRI who suggested we visit Spud Point Crab Company on the west side of the bay.

So we did. Diane had a crab sandwich and I had a large cardboard thing of regular clam chowder. The other choice of clam chowder, besides regular, was red. For clarification, I asked the young lady cashier if the clams were really red which appeared to fluster her a it, then I figured it out … Manhatten chowder! Duh! Their efforts to simplify things for the natives complicated it for me. There was a sign on the wall reporting that their clam chowder has been deemed the best for the past 8 years. Seemed like a safe bet, right? I admit I’ve had worse, but it’s been a while. This batch had way too many spices and too much garlic. It’s been hours since having it and Diane says she can still smell it, even after eating an egg salad sandwich, a huge brownie, a glass of milk, and a whole bunch of carrots. She went out to the car a little while ago and stated, upon her return, that it smelled like an Italian restaurant inside the trailer. Clam chowder shouldn’t do that, should it?

Vacation – Day 4

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

Personally, I think it’s a little odd that I’ve started the last 4 entries with “Southbound” which was only accurate for the first 2. Yesterday we started out going south, to Gualala, but had to go north to get back to the trailer park at the Point Arena Lighthouse Resort. To change things up a little, we went north today, to Manchester, to see what’s there. Then we had to turn right around, when we were done, in order to get back to the trailer park. North and south, little bits at a time. There was a little west east in there, too.

I guess it was really a NEWS day, wasn’t it? That’s pretty much every day, for all of us.

Anyway, we went to Manchester to see what Manchester Beach State Park was like. We got to the park, and walked the 1/4 mile path that had a sign, “To Beach” – maybe it was actually ‘to beach’. The path ended at the edge of a 20+ foot cliff which gave us the sincere impression that only young people are allowed on the beach at Manchester Beach State Park. Here’s where it ended …

So we turned around and went back to the car. We have to admit, however, the view was stunning.

Now I have to admit that we didn’t go to Manchester Beach State Park first. We went to see the Point Arena Lighthouse which is at the end of Lighthouse Road which conveniently runs right past the trailer park. Here’s proof that we were actually there. The spot where this was taken is where the car race in “Need For Speed” ended. We’ve been informed that the movie will be released in 2014.

The coastline near the lighthouse is far more stunning that it is at Manchester Beach State Park.

I have to relate an interesting event while we were in a Sjolund Market in Manchester, an obviously Scandinavian name, not uncommon in most Pacific Coast villages. Most of the products in the market, seriously, most of them, are made in the USA. From all over the country. We were looking for some cooking oil, and an unboiled egg, so Diane could make brownies. Not being able to find it caused me to violate the first code of manhood. I asked for directions from a young lady taking inventory.

She didn’t speak English. Ironic, huh?

Oh yes … Diane insists that I share a picture of our trailer park … here’s two of them …

I can’t remember if I related that we bought a really nice New York cut steak, yesterday, and I’m not going to look to see. But we did. Today, after getting back from our arduous day, I snagged a BBG and cooked it. The BBQs live in a nest near the office. They provide the charcoal, lighter fluid, and matches. Before cooking it, I asked Diane if she got BBQ sauce. She said, “no, you can use Ketchup.” On a New York steak! It was very tasty.

What a day.

Vacation – Day 3

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Jerrie Cate

4/13/13
Today we got up really early – me for the bathroom and Diane so she could move to the couch. We only have a queen bed so my ‘wiggling’ around is more pronounced, causing severe irritation that deters from the ability to obtain a decent nights sleep. I regret that aspect of getting older, though Diane would say I’ve always had this problem. I think the extra wiggly part of last night was the result of a glass of wine with which I took my nightly ration of Zolpidem. The wine was Barefoot Pink Moscato, Screwtop, Wednesday Last Week. It’s very good, and very easy to open.
When I returned from relieving myself, Diane got up and moved. She said that was about 0530. So, that’s officially when we first got up. I then slept until almost 0900, as did she. She may have slept a little longer, but I stood at her feet, staring into her face, projecting my desire that she wake up all by herself. It’s better if I don’t touch her to wake her up. I practice staring at her, commanding her to turn and look at me, all the time. She’s used to it now, though, and normally just tells me to quit staring at her … like she knew it was me all along. I suppose that’s logical since it’s normally just the two of us. But, she always acknowledges the stare. This morning, however, when she opened her eyes she jumped when she saw me, not knowing that I was the reason she woke up. I only had to stand there for about 30 minutes, too. I’m getting better all the time.

After a cup of coffee, and a yogurt, we walked up to the office where a staff member was giving information about what there is to do in the area. After that we returned to our assigned trailer and had a proper breakfast of Cheerios, toast and coffee. Then, with our new found knowledge of what’s going on locally, we headed south on Highway 1 at a leisurely pace, relying on memory about things to do because we left the information in our trailer.

First, Point Arena isn’t a large place. I believe there are 449 residents, all of whom either work at the trailer park here, or spend their time fishing down by the Coast Guard Bed & Breakfast by the pier where the albatross live.

For those of you who really, really like California Highway 1, I apologize. It truly is a beautiful drive when time isn’t a factor. We only drove as far south as Gualala. I saw a custom license plate with GWALALA so know that’s how it’s pronounced. Before that I was guessing. I’m guessing, still, that it’s pronounced in a manner that would make it fit right in the song “Deck The Halls” … you know, “fa la la la la, la la la la.” Or, “falalalal, lalalal,” if you prefer.

Gualala is a quaint little village. In the year 2000 the population was 1,912. Last year they did a recount, because of an influx of folks from Florida, and came up with 2,132. On average, there are 25 people per square mile. By comparison, Point Arena lost 25 people between the 2000 and 2010 census, down from 474. Diane concurs with me that those 25 people secured one square mile of property in Gualala and are part of that 2,132.

On the way to Gualala (kinda rolls off your tongue, now, doesn’t it?) we stopped at a craft fair at the Veteran’s Hall in Point Arena where we both bought stuff. Can’t share what because they are surprises for some folks. Friendly people and fun to talk with. One of the vendors was an eighth grader who was my vendor of choice. She was stuck at the end of a long table full of laser crafted, overpriced, wood boxes, and her little card table was almost totally blocked by a small shoji screen covered with dangly “stuff”.

From there we continued down a few streets and turned right on Port Avenue which ends at the Coast Guard Bed & Breakfast, and the fishing & boat launch pier. There isn’t a boat ramp like normal – it’s got a crane that picks up boats and drops them in the water. The wind was blowing so hard that we didn’t spend much time on the pier. Plus there were big birds flying around doing bomb runs on people in the parking lot. Fun to watch, but chilly.

Moving on down the road, we didn’t stop until we got to Gualala where we found a supermarket Diane wanted so we could get something for supper. I got a New York steak, but I think we’re going to have tuna salad instead. We’ll eat the steak tomorrow.

Attached to the supermarket is a Mexican Food & Pizza joint so we each had a piece of pepperoni pizza, which was really good. Then we walked across the parking lot to Jack’s Pharmacy And All Around Emporium. That’s not really the name. It’s just Jack’s Pharmacy. Inside, however, it’s a little bit of everything, even old motorcycles. It really did have a pharmacy, but it was closed. Outside the closed wire cage, near the Depends and Kotex isle, were sitting six guys with guitars pickin’ and singin’. Pickin’ good, singin’ bad, but they were having a lot of fun.

In this store Diane found a little chandelier type thing, but the lady wanted too much. So, the lady knocked $25 off which met with Diane’s approval. She took us to the cashier and told her we were paying cash, so it didn’t get rung up. Diane also bought some cards which were rung up. So, figuring this was definitely a tax type dodge, I told the First Lady that I worked for the IRS and needed to talk to her. She flexed a bit, said, and I quote, “shit, I’m really in trouble now…” Seeing the impact of this lie caused me to immediately let her know I was lying and that I wasn’t going to tell anyone. For my honesty, she breathed a sigh of relief and gave me a rice krispy square for free.

That made my day, which pleased Diane, so we mosied back to our assigned trailer.

One of the things we learned at the morning meeting is a film crew is lurking around the area shooting the movie “The Need For Speed”, I think. Apparently they used Lighthouse Road, outside our trailer park, a few days ago. A local paper reported that the chain link fence was removed from the Point Arena Lighthouse for the movie so it’s a good time to go take pictures. So, we’ll be doing that tomorrow, in the morning, after another nourishing breakfast of Cheerios, toast, and coffee.

Did I mention that it’s windy here?